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Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Can't wait for you to see the fun JB Knacker has planned for Saturday, November 8th! Our Christmas Bash is a nostalgic look back at the fun that Christmas was as a kid...only in a very grown-up sort of way...you'll just have to show up to figure that out! We're extending our hours a bit on the 8th(10am 'til 5pm), to allow everyone a chance to make it over to JB. Festive bites and beverages will be served and if snow is present, there WILL be a snowball fight in the side yard!

I know, I know...I said I would get pictures up of our gifty items at the shop, but w/ our Christmas bash a mere 10 days from now, I feel the need to keep some things surprises. You loved surprises as a kid! You remember how disappointing it was when you peeked at your presents in mom & dad's closet and then the magic was over and the guilt began(i felt guilty anyway...don't think little brother Matt did). Just know that Julie & I have been running around crazy-like finding just the right vintage goodies to add to our Christmas Bash theme. And just like Santa, we have been stocking up on all of our great vintage inspired gifts so we don't run out. I have yet to put on all black and slink around my mom & dad's yard for the best nature finds(i have to be sneaky as my dad thinks I'm killing all the trees by cutting branches & such...i am almost certain Martha said it's a good time to prune). The food will be yummy and the beverages toasty, and as day turns to evening, the wine will flow. Bring family and friends to rekindle (i love that word) that warm feeling of Christmas as a kid!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Having just baptized our new baby and having our oldest son back from up north on a quick break from his sophomore year at UMD, yesterday was a day filled w/ the stuff of life. Kids running and crunching in the leaves and grown-ups talking and laughing about everyday things. It was a good day. Ahh...the best time of the year is upon us. As shop owners, we find this time to be refreshing as it is so easy to decorate and whoosh the shop into something fun and sometimes even a little unexpected! There is so much nature to decorate w/...mums, pumpkins, hay bales, hydrangea, bittersweet, grapevine and branches. The way our vintage and antique pieces look this time of the year - stunning: old gold and wood decorative frames leaning against a wall, harvest tables w/ mismatched wood chairs pulled around, ironstone platters and old glass cake stands, bowls of chippy croquet balls and 100 yr old ledger books. Our shop smells fantastic w/ our new soaps just in...oatmeal, twigs & berries and lemon verbena - pure glycerin, rough cut and handmade right here in Iowa. Mix those smells w/ our "signature" coffee ( OK...it's really french vanilla Folgers), and it's like a warm blanket wrapped around 'ya as you walk through the front door. Another new gift item just in is our apple jackets and coffee sleeves done up in the coziest of colors and fibers. Never heard of an apple jacket - they are too darned cute w/ their antique button or rhinestone closures, they will keep your apples from bruising as you brown bag it and well...they are just too darned cute! Great as gifts for teachers and bus drivers and sisters and moms and working women and Sunday school teachers and babysitters and teenagers who do cold lunch...or just gathered in a wooden bowl on the table! I promise pictures to come of all of our gift items in the shop (and hopefully, they won't be blurry pictures like above...I am trying?!). The new shop hours (Tues thru Fr 1-6pm and Sat 10-3pm) seem to be catching on w/ our seasoned customers as well as new souls that have come through our old doors. We will be making final decisions on our upcoming seasonal celebration tomorrow, and then we will post all the details as well as send out emails and update the website. Just so you know, it has always been hard for Julie and I to bring out Christmas decorations before December...just the way we were brought up to savor each holiday as it comes. But as shop owners, we understand the urgency to begin a little early. So to make up for this, we strive to do Christmas very JB Knacker-like. You will love our themes, colors, vignettes and wonderful gift ideas! Stay tuned for the dates and times of the event and in the meantime, come visit us and checkout all the goodies!!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

What a great charm workshop we had a few Tuesdays ago (Sept.23rd). A big thanks to the 9 participants: Marie, Melanie, Kay, Erin, Mary, Deb, Shari, Lori and Ms. Tomlinsin (forgive me as I can't remember your first name, but I can see your face and remember your last name - that's called raging post-partum hormones). Our wonderful Penny did a great job leading the troops in the education of "all that solders" and also Tracy was a great assistant and helper for the night! Thanks also to Deb who quickly shot a few pictures as Julie & I can't seem to remember to bring a camera w/ us anywhere! I hate that we forgot this again because you need Need to see what these creative gals made. The charms were beautiful and then as an added bonus they all got to create a typewriter charm to embellish their finished necklace. Next charm workshop will be in early December...great time for gift-giving. The next workshop in our series is next Tuesday, October 14th 6-8pm - Journal making is on the agenda and we have a bunch of gals from the MODA club at ISU joining us, but still have room for more, so call the shop ASAP and pre-register (www.jbknacker.com for more info. on workshop series). The husband, baby Cecilia and I all hit the road last Thursday to get an early jump at the What Cheer Flea. The ability to avoid the crowds and drive the vehicle right into the fairgrounds is a plus about Thursday. Now, you do miss some vendors who haven't arrived yet or those that just mysteriously leave their space for hours on end, but the pluses w/ a new baby in tow much outweighed the negatives. I like What Cheer for their ephemera and wire...two of my all-time favorite things. But you gotta dig and get down and dirty to find the good stuff...and that, I have no trouble doing ever except when you need to stay somewhat clean and sanitary so as to nurse a baby every few hours. The husband and I are no amateurs at junking nor having a baby with, so we did the best we could and discovered a few goodies along the way. Very favorite discovery: 3 massive ledger books w/ awesome calligraphy writing...you know like the one in the Mickey Mouse Scrooge story where the ledger is way bigger than Mickey w/ his little feet dangling as he writes in it on Christmas Eve...you know the one. I have big plans for the monstrous ledgers. I don't have pictures of the ledgers...just a few of the $1 tables at What Cheer as well as some shots of fun things I dug out of a shed on the way to What Cheer. Don't worry, there was a sale happening at the shed at the time.